Posts in Category: Medical Issues

From University of Wisconsin, Madison

Photo by Douglas DeBoer

A study reported today at the World Congress of Veterinary Dermatology in Vancouver, British Columbia, shows that placing  allergy drops under a dog’s tongue can be as effective as allergy injections for controlling skin allergies.In dogs, allergies to house dust, pollen, and mold cause atopic dermatitis, an itchy skin inflammation. Dogs, like people, can be desensitized through “immunotherapy” using shots or drops that deliver small doses of the allergen to “train” the immune system to tolerate foreign proteins.Both technologies are now about a century old, but for humans and animals, allergy shots are more commonly used.Chief author of the new study, Douglas DeBoer, a professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, sees several benefits emerging from the new study, which treated skin allergies in 217 dogs using allergy drops.About 60 percent of the dogs improved significantly, DeBoer says. The drops were placed under the tongue twice a day, while allergy shots are injected every 14 days or so. Both drops and shots must be performed under a veterinarian’s supervision, and their cost is comparable.Because the drops apparently act through a different mechanism than allergy shots, they even helped dogs who had “failed” allergy shots, DeBoer says.

Dogs, like people, can rarely suffer a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to allergy shots, resulting in collapse and shock.  However, even those dogs treated in the study that had previously had such a dangerous reaction to an allergy shot did not have it with the under-the-tongue method. “Drops appear to be safer than shots in this respect,” says DeBoer.DeBoer was not always so enthusiastic about allergy drops for dogs, says Mary Morris, M.D., of Allergy Associates of La Crosse. In about 1967, her father, Dr. David Morris, started using allergy drops with increasing effect on his allergy patients. Some were farmers with severe mold allergies who suffered aching arms and swelling from allergy shots or could not find the time to visit the clinic for regular shots.In 2006, Morris says, a clinic employee asked her to try allergy drops on a “poor little golden retriever that was losing most of its coat, scratching uncontrollably. Based on the human protocol we use at the clinic, I made my best guess at the formula for treating a dog, and it worked really well.”Intrigued with the idea of a rigorous study for the treatment on dogs, she searched for an expert in canine skin allergies and DeBoer’s name was at the top of the list.  He seemed a natural fit — a world expert in the area who worked at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where both she and her father had gone to medical school.Unfortunately, DeBoer “was extremely skeptical, and he basically told me no,” she says. “I was very disappointed, and kept trying to persuade him this was a good research project.” The two agreed on a pilot study of 10 dogs. “If it failed, it wasn’t worth pursuing,” she says. “But I think much to his surprise, it actually worked.”The outcome, Morris says, “was the study he is going to present in Vancouver.”Morris has licensed the technology to Heska Corp., whose CEO, Robert Grieve, is a former professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine.With data in hand, DeBoer has overcome his skepticism. Although the drops must be given once or twice a day for at least several months, they have major advantages, he says. “A lot of owners are needle-shy, and would never  consider giving allergy shots, and may not even have the dog evaluated for that reason.  Now there is an option that is very user-friendly.”And what do the dogs think? “The drops have a slightly sweet flavor, so most dogs actually like them,” says DeBoer. “Owners say their dogs consider them a treat and run toward them when they hear the bottle being opened. With the needle, they learn to run away.”

US and Canadian regulators have approved Immunocidin, the first of two canine cancer products developed by Bioniche (ASX:BNC).

Bioniche (ASX:BNC) has received regulatory approval in the US and Canada for one of two canine oncology products in the company’s pipeline.

Owners should know that dogs that “leak” urine aren’t doing it on purpose, writes veterinarian Natalee Holt, and there may be an underlying anatomical abnormality or hormone imbalance causing the problem. Dr. Holt explains that ectopic ureters and estrogen insufficiency are two conditions that can lead to urinary incontinence. Both usually respond to treatment.

Canine bedwetting is usually a lack of urinary control

Published:         Monday, July 9, 2012   

Usually, I like to start an article with a personal anecdote about me or my pet. The topic of urinary incontinence makes me less inclined to do that.

Urinary incontinence is a lack of voluntary control of urination. What that means for you is that your dog leaves a puddle in the house. The important thing about urinary incontinence in dogs is that it is not intentional. They have no knowledge that they are urinating inappropriately; they just can’t help leaking urine. Usually, this occurs while they are sleeping, and they will leave puddles on the couch or the bed. Sometimes, a dog will drip urine while they are walking around. If you see your dog posture to urinate inside the house, that is not incontinence.

There are two major causes of incontinence. Puppies can be born with an inappropriately formed urinary system called ectopic ureters. In this case, the kidneys produce urine appropriately, but the tubes carrying the urine into the bladder attach to the urethra instead of the bladder. The urethra is the tube leading from the bladder out to the open world. There is a sphincter at the juncture of the bladder and urethra that acts like a rubber band and keeps urine in the bladder. If the ureters deposit urine past this mechanism, the puppy will not be able to store urine in the bladder, and the urine will leak.

Many puppies with this problem have ureters that exit into the bladder and the urethra. This puppy will be able to urinate normally, but may leak in between. Most puppies with ectopic ureters will present for being difficult to house break. Sometimes dogs are adults by the time they are diagnosed. While a history can help a veterinarian make an educated guess as to what the cause of a puppy’s incontinence is, usually further diagnostics are required to confirm. A camera can be placed in the urethra to look for where the ureters exit or a CT scan can be done to identify the path of the ureters from the kidneys to their end point. The abnormal ureters usually are corrected surgically. A newer technique uses a laser introduced through a camera as a non-invasive method.

The other major cause of incontinence in dogs is hormone responsive incontinence, also known as spay incontinence. This problem has been reported in 10 percent to 20 percent of spayed female dogs, although it can occur in male dogs as well. The sphincter (the rubber-band around the urethra) is controlled by several chemicals in the body. Estrogen controls the number of receptors available to receive these chemicals. When a dog is spayed, the estrogen level changes and the sphincter control can be altered. This usually develops within three years of the spay procedure, but occasionally, it will develop further out from the procedure.

This type of incontinence is treated primarily with medication. About 85 percent of dogs will respond to a daily medication that activates adrenaline receptors. Sometimes this medication can cause anxiety, high blood pressure and increased aggression. Supplementing estrogen once weekly can help about 65 percent of dogs and has fewer side effects. Some dogs require both to have control. Dogs with mild incontinence can benefit from supplementation of soy isoflavones, which are marketed for post-menopausal women.

While the majority of dogs can be treated with medication, a small number don’t respond to either or a combination. Therapies for these dogs get a little more creative. One recommended therapy is collagen injections into the urethra. The collagen bulks up the urethra and creates an artificial sphincter that can help them keep urine in the bladder. There is also a band that can be placed surgically around the urethra. The band is filled with fluid to help create an artificial sphincter mechanism. Finally, there is a surgical method that pulls the bladder forward to alter the physics of emptying. Dogs requiring these procedures usually require medication afterward.

If you have a bedwetting dog at home or a dog that leaks urine, it is important to realize your dog may have no control over this. Consult your veterinarian to see if your dog could be incontinent and to see what therapies are available.

Your Pet is published on the second Monday of each month. Dr. Natalee Holt holds a doctorate of veterinary medicine from the Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine. She became board-certified in internal medicine in 2011. Holt loves all aspects of internal medicine, but has a special interest in gastrointestinal diseases and immune mediated diseases. She and her husband Jonathan share their home with Becca the dog, Jasmine the rabbit, and their three cats, Kitty, Clara and Appomattox. Holt is a board-certified internal medicine specialist who practices with the Animal Medical Center of New England, 168 Main Dunstable Road, Nashua.

Routine fecal sample evaluation is an important means of protecting the health of pets and their owners, according to veterinarian Sandy Willis. Several intestinal parasites present zoonotic risks and can be detected on a fecal flotation, a method in which parasite eggs can be separated from fecal material and identified using a microscope based on size and morphological features, Dr. Willis says. This blog post details how the samples are evaluated, what organisms are detected and how to best collect and store a sample until it is tested.

Question: Vets typically want to test a stool sample from our pets during an annual exam. It can be a smelly and messy collection, and many pet owners ignore the request. How valuable a diagnostic tool is poop?

Answer: The importance of a routine fecal examination and deworming has grown in recent years.

A fecal exam is very helpful in health and disease. It will identify most gastrointestinal parasites in a healthy pet and those that may be causing disease in a sick pet with a variety of signs, including diarrhea, vomiting, poor skin and hair coat, weight loss, etc.

Most pets acquire parasite infections from the environment because parasite eggs often can exist for long periods of time in the soil and grass. Fecal examinations in healthy pets will identify asymptomatic shedders, allowing us to treat them, eliminate shedding, serving to reduce overall contamination and exposure of other pets to infection.

Furthermore, restricting access of children to contaminated areas, such as sandboxes, pet-walk areas and other high-traffic areas, is important.

An important zoonotic parasite is the raccoon roundworm Baylisascaris. Raccoons defecate in areas called latrines, and surrounded soil can be contaminated with Baylisascaris eggs.

People should discourage raccoons from their yards but not feeding raccoons or other animals around their homes, carefully removing any raccoon fecal material, and not allowing children to play in areas where raccoons have been.

Question: What can a fecal sample tell you about a dog’s health?

Answer: Fecal examination will identify internal parasites, such as worms, coccidia including giardia, and sometimes larvae such as lung worms.

In puppies, parasite infections often come from the mother, so the health of the puppy and bitch can be assessed by a fecal examination.

But the exams do not identify all infections, and, thus, routine deworming is important even if fecal tests are negative.

This is particularly important in the puppy and in recently infected older dogs. In these dogs, worms are present in the intestines but they are not yet shedding eggs, resulting in a negative fecal examination.

Our common antiparasiticals have become so much more advanced in recent years.

They are safer, easier to administer and kill and prevent more infections. However, the fecal examination remains important to make sure we are treating the dog or cat with the most appropriate antiparasitical.

Clients should seek advice from their veterinarian on which dewormers are best. There are many out there, some less effective than others, and the veterinarian’s advice can save costs by making sure the right one is selected from the beginning. We also have to be careful with cats and make sure they receive dewormers appropriate for the feline.

Question: What can’t a fecal sample tell you?

Answer: There are other causes of diarrhea, including pancreatic insufficiency, small intestinal disease, hormonal problems, even cancer. Routine fecal examination will not diagnose these.

Bacterial causes of diarrhea are rare in small animals. A fecal culture, looking for unusual bacteria in the stool, is needed to diagnose a bacterial diarrhea. Parvovirus diarrhea is not diagnosed on a routine fecal examination, but there is another fecal test for this viral diarrhea.

Question: What specifically are you looking for in fecal tests?

Answer: We are looking for worms, small, moving organisms such as tritrichomonas and eggs of common gastrointestinal parasites.

Question: Is one stool sample usually enough?

Answer: Generally, yes. Sometimes we prefer to check multiple fecal samples because shedding may be intermittent, which can be the case with a giardia infection. In a patient with diarrhea, we may end up treating for gastrointestinal parasites even though a fecal sample is negative because a negative result does not absolutely rule out all parasites.

Question: What kinds of common issues are typically found?

Answer: The worm eggs: roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, coccidian, shown right, including giardia in small animals. Stomach worms, tapeworms, some whipworms and hookworms are seen in large animals.

These must be distinguished from common contaminants in stool, including environmental yeasts and fungi, pollen and other plant material, grain mites and parasites of other species (such as rodents, amphibians, large animals and horses) that are acquired from eating the species (i.e. frogs) or their stool (sheep and cattle).

Parasites from other species are just passing through, cause no disease in the dog and cat and do not require treatment.

Question: What are some of the more unusual diseases detected?

Answer: We can occasionally find organisms that are not related to the gastrointestinal tract, such as skin parasites like demodex and sarcoptes. These are mites that are usually picked up in skin scrapings made of the skin, placed on a slide and examined under a microscope. Sometimes the itching dog or cat will ingest these mites, they will pass unchanged through the gastrointestinal tract, and we will find them in the stool. Pretty cool.

We have occasionally seen a huge load of worm eggs from a species other than the one being sampled, such as deer worm eggs seen in the feces of a dog that routinely ingests deer poop!

We occasionally also see eggs that might cause significant disease in a sheep, goat or llama — in the stool of a dog. It is not necessary to treat the dog for the parasite, because these worms are generally species specific and only cause a problem in the natural host, but it is important to contact the owner of the pasture and have them do a routine deworming of their livestock.

Question: What is the worst thing it can reveal?

Answer: Sometimes we see such large infestations of parasites that the patient must be really ill. Overwhelming gastrointestinal parasitism can cause severe illness and death, particularly in young and immunocompromised patients.

In the Pacific Northwest, we also see a disease called salmon poisoning, shown right. Salmon poisoning occurs in domestic and wild dogs from northern California and Washington. This disease can be fatal if not identified and treated.

It is caused by a small microscopic organism called a rickettsia. Clinical signs include fever, not eating, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhea, which can sometimes be bloody. Signs are severe and dogs can become very ill, needing immediate veterinary care.

The interesting aspect of salmon poisoning is this: the rickettsia, called Rickettsia helminthoeca, is carried within a trematode or fluke. The fluke requires two other life-forms, the snail Oxytrema spp., which is only found in fresh and brackish stream waters in our coastal areas, and salmonid fish (salmon), certain nonsalmonid fish (such as trout) and the Pacific giant salamander. The dog becomes infected by eating or sometimes even licking, a fish or salamander. We diagnose the infection by finding the fluke eggs in a stool sample. It is rare to find the rickettsia agents themselves.

Salmon poisoning only occurs from the ingestion of raw fish. Cooked fish do not present a problem. Thus owners should really discourage their dogs from eating any raw fish.

This disease is not seen in cats.

Question: Which diseases, parasites, etc., can only be detected in an analysis of poop?
Answer: We can only detect the presence of gastrointestinal parasites, such as worms, trichomonads, coccidia, etc., by a fecal examination. There are no blood tests for these organisms.

Question: Are there any situations in which diseases/problems can be caught early by examining poop, before more serious symptoms develop?

Answer: We can occasionally detect fecal parasites before we see signs of disease such as diarrhea, blood in the stool, weight loss, poor skin and hair coat and condition, etc.

In addition — and more importantly — some parasites are zoonotic, meaning they can cause an aberrant infection in man, such as roundworms and certain hookworms. Thus we do want to make sure our pets are parasite free by performing routine fecal examinations and deworming.

In salmon poisoning, if we find the fluke eggs on a routine fecal examination, we will generally treat to prevent the disease with a tetracycline antibiotic.

Question: Vets usually want the samples to be “fresh.” Why?

Answer: Even the finding of one egg can be diagnostic, thus we want the samples to be fresh. With time, samples and eggs dry out and disintegrate.

Also, fecal samples in the environment can quickly become contaminated with fly eggs, free living larva or worms from the soil, and other contaminants that can be confused with real parasites.

Question: What is the best way to collect a sample? What do you suggest it be scooped up with?

Answer: The sample can be scooped up with anything clean and submitted in a special fecal vial provided by the veterinarian, a clean dry cup of any type with a lid, or even a plastic bag. The key is to not gather up too much of the environmental contamination, such as leaves and dirt and little box clay.

We usually only need one to six grams of a sample, thus the owner does not need to provide a huge amount. When there is diarrhea, the sample size should be larger. With firm stool, we need less.

Question: What is the best sanitary way to keep a sample if you can’t get to the vet immediately?

Answer: Keep the sample in a container with a lid, or in a bag that is closed. I would keep it in a cool place.

As pets defecate at least one to two times a day, samples should be collected on the day they are submitted or the day before so they shouldn’t need to be kept for long periods of time.

Question: How is a fecal sample prepared for review?

Answer: Fecal samples are analyzed either at veterinary diagnostic laboratories or within the practice. The basic technique of the fecal procedure is to first identify any large parasites within the sample.

We may take a small sample, mix it slightly with water and do a direct examination under the microscope for any moving parasites. Then, another small sample is prepared for a fecal flotation. A flotation technique uses a solution (can be sugar solution, zinc sulfate, sodium nitrate, etc) and either passive ( the sample sits on the counter for a given length of time) or active (centrifugation of the sample) flotation to separate parasite eggs from debris in the sample and allow them to be identified under a microscope by egg size and morphology.

Question: How much does an analysis usually cost?

Answer: This varies depending on the technique and whether the fecal sample in done in the veterinary clinic or sent out to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Costs can vary from roughly $25 to $45. Clients are urged not to shop tests based on cost alone  because the cheapest fecal test may not be run the complete way with centrifugation. Also, a clinic is not going to simply run a fecal test without a physical examination, an interpretation of the results and appropriate therapy.

Dr. Sandy Willis

Here’s the link to this article including visual aid videos:
https://www.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/201-cpr-for-dogs-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation

Do you know what to do if your dog stops breathing? Knowing a few emergency procedures if your dog is choking, or having difficulty breathing, could save your dog’s life because you may not have time to get to a vet.
If your dog has a foreign object stuck in his throat, it is important to try and dislodge it before performing CPR. Read our article: Heimlich Maneuver for dogs.
Canine CPR
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) preserves brain function until proper blood circulation and breathing can be restored.

The signs that indicate the need for CPR include unconsciousness, lack of arousal, lack of physical movement, or eye blinking. These symptoms can occur from drowning, choking, electrical shock, or a number of other situations.
The following information has been updated with latest recommended guidelines outlined by the first evidence-based research on how best to resuscitate dogs and cats in cardiac arrest published in June 2012 by the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER). The study recommends a few updates to current manual CPR practices on dogs:

• Perform 100-120 chest compressions per minute
• Perform a compression to mouth-to-snout ventilation      ratio of 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths
• Recommendations on how best to perform cardiac massage      / chest compressions on different chest types and sizes of dogs (see      diagrams below).

The key to canine CPR is remembering the ABCs:

Airway,
Breathing, and
Cardiac compression.
To perform the three techniques, follow these steps.

1. Lay the dog on a flat      surface and extend      the head back to create an airway. (Current practices recommend      laying the dog on his/her right side (heart facing up), however      the  latest recommended guidelines state that either the      left or right lateral recumbency are acceptable.)
2. Open the jaws to check for      obstructions, and if any exist and are not easily removed, try to dislodge      the object. See our article Heimlich      Maneuever for dogs for details on how to dislodge a dog’s blocked      airway safely.
3. Cup your hands around      the muzzle      of the dog’s mouth so that only the nostrils are clear. Blow air into the      nostrils with five or six quick breaths, again, depending on the size of      the dog. Small dogs and puppies and require short and shallow breaths.      Larger dogs need longer and deeper breaths. Continue the quick breaths at      a rate of one breath every three seconds or 20 breaths per minute.
4. Check for a heartbeat by using your finger on      the inside of the thigh, just above the knee. If you don’t feel a pulse,      put your hand over the dog’s chest cavity where the elbow touches the      middle of the chest. If you still don’t find a pulse, have one person      continue breathing into the nostrils (mouth to snout), while another gives      chest compressions / cardiac massage. If you are alone, do the compression      and mouth-to-snout ventilation yourself.
5. Give the dog chest      compressions (cardiac massage) by placing both hands palms down on the chest cavity of      the dog. For most dogs, chest compressions can be performed on the widest      part of the chest while the dog is lying on his side.
• For dogs with       keel-shaped chests (i.e. deep, narrow chests) in breeds such as       greyhounds push down closer to the dog’s armpit, directly over the heart.
• For dogs with       barrel-chested dogs like English bulldogs lay the dog on its back and       compress on the sternum (directly over the heart), like people.
• For smaller dogs (and       cats) chest-compressions scan be done with one hand wrapped around the       sternum, encircling the heart or two-handed on the ribs.
• For large dogs, place       your hands on top of each other. For small dogs or puppies, place one       hand or thumb on the chest.
6. Use the heel of your      hand(s)      to push down for 30 quick compressions followed by 2 breaths of air      (ventilation) and then check to see if consciousness has been restored. If      consciousness has not been restored, continue the compressions in cycles      of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute (the same rhythm administered      for people).
7. Perform CPR in 2-minute      cycles checking      to see if breathing and consciousness has been restored.

Ideally, CPR is performed while on route to emergency veterinarian care. If this is not possible, contact a veterinarian once the dog has started breathing.
The following diagrams illustrates how to perform chest compressions on dogs with different chest types. Click on an image to see a larger version. Figure (A) illustrates the technique for most dogs. You can apply chest compressions to the widest part of the chest while the dog lies on its side. Figure (B) illustrates the technique for barrel-chested dogs. Figure (C) illustrates the technique for barrel-chested dogs.

For small dogs and cats chest compressions can be administered two ways. Click on the images to see a larger version. Figure (A) illustrates wrapping one hand around the sternum while supporting the back. Figure (B) illustrates two-handed compression.

Below are a couple of videos on administering CPR on dogs. The first is instructional, while the second is a recorded incident of CPR used for an emergency situation.
Note: The instructional video below recommends a compression to ventilation ratio of 15 compressions followed by 1 breath. The June 2012 study recommends a compression to ventilation ratio of 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths.

Here’s the link to this article including visual aid videos:

https://www.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/201-cpr-for-dogs-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation

When an older female dog uncharacteristically urinates in the house, veterinarian Linda Janowitz writes that several potential causes should be considered, including kidney disease, diabetes, a urinary tract infection and urinary incontinence — a weakening of the bladder sphincter caused by a lack of estrogen in older spayed dogs. A veterinarian can determine the cause and treatment after examining the dog, Dr. Janowitz notes.

Several possibilities could explain your dog’s behavior. She could have a urinary tract infection, which can make her urinate more often, and she may not be able to hold it until she gets outside. That would be the best-case scenario as it is usually easy to treat with antibiotics.

Other conditions can also be an issue with an elderly dog. I would want to rule out diabetes and kidney disease. With both of these conditions, you would probably see her drinking more water and urinating more in general.

Last, but perhaps most importantly, your dog may have hormonal incontinence. In spayed female dogs, especially as they age, the lack of estrogen can cause the urinary sphincter to become weak. Often these dogs will leak urine in their beds. A combination of factors may be contributing to your dog’s behavior.

You could also be right about the cold weather. It could be the only reason for her behavior or a contributing factor. I would recommend first scheduling a visit with your veterinarian for blood work and a urinalysis to rule out many conditions that cause increased urination.

If your dog’s problem doesn’t have a medical cause, try using puppy pads placed in convenient locations on colder days. It might help if you try to associate a word command with urinating, so she knows what you expect when you go outside. When she does urinate, use the word and praise her. You could also reward her with a treat when she urinates outside.

Linda Janowitz, DVM, is the director of veterinary medicine with the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA.

Veterinarians and other animal-oriented businesses are providing creative solutions to curb the pet obesity epidemic in the U.S., offering extended, customized weight-loss programs complete with diet modification and exercise therapy on-site. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that roughly half of U.S. pets are overweight, with one of every five tipping the scales at 30% over their ideal weight.

Telling yourself it’s finally time to sign up for the gym and shed some pounds is hard enough, but getting your dog to drop weight?
That can be even tougher.
Erin Kowalski, 30, of Humboldt Park learned that a few years ago when her chocolate lab, Zeus, ballooned to 110 pounds—about 36 pounds overweight.
While a healthier diet and extended walking regimen produced noticeable results for her dog, Kowalski turned to a relatively new option to get Zeus to a healthy weight. She signed him up with a Logan Square pet clinic that specializes in animal weight loss. The clinic has all the bells and whistles you’d expect at a neighborhood gym—from laser therapy to acupuncture to workouts with exercise balls. Turns out, an underwater treadmill and resistance pool was the secret to Zeus’ slimdown.
“He’s got a better coat, he’s got more energy—all around he’s a better dog because of his weight loss,” Kowalski said. “Everybody thinks he’s a 3-year-old dog, even though he’s 9.”
Pet owners in Chicago are taking new measures to help Fido burn the fat. Specialty care facilities, which can cost hundreds of dollars for multi-week regimens, offer human-like ways for dogs and cats to shed pounds. There are even bootcamps designed for pet and owner to work out together. Meanwhile, pet owners across the country are spending tens of millions of dollars every year to treat issues that are brought on by their pets’ weight.
While Americans themselves are facing a national obesity problem, their pets are tipping the scales as well. More than half of adult dogs and cats are overweight or obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, and about one in five of them weighs in at more than 30 percent over its ideal body weight. The surplus pounds can lead to a host of health issues including arthritis, diabetes and problems with the hips, kidneys and liver. And while fat cats like Meow, the 39-pound feline whose photo was passed around online before he passed away last month, have been talk-show punchlines of late, experts say the issue is something to be taken seriously.
“Every time we see these horribly obese and overweight cats, there’s always a little joke, a little asterisk attached to it,” said Ernie Ward, author of pet obesity book “Chow Hounds.” “As a vet, I see that that animal is suffering.”
Ward said the issue of animal obesity has gained traction in recent years, going from a subject that was brushed off when the association was founded in 2005 to a topic that is beginning to open the eyes of pet owners.
Megan Ridley, a veterinarian at Integrative Pet Care, the Logan Square clinic that helped Zeus, said she treats animals she believes are morbidly obese.
“We come up with protocols for these animals,” she said. “I usually put the No. 1 [goal] is weight loss.”
Ridley said it’s rare to see an animal come in for treatment solely for weight issues. Usually, she says, existing problems such as arthritis, hip dysplasia and other issues that cause pets to be less active have been made worse by being overweight or obese. But it does happen. One recent client brought in a dog who was fed a diet of table scraps for a year and a half. The dog that should have weighed 65 pounds soared to 90.
“You could see it was starting to have issues with its wrists,” she said.
Ed Heil, owner of Integrative Pet Care, said eight- to 12-week treatments range from $800 to $1,400, and can include boarding. Heil said the rehab and weight loss can prevent costlier procedures. Hip surgery for a dog or cat can cost at least $3,000 to $4,000.
Saq Nadeem, founder of the resort-style boarding service Paws for Pets, said he has seen a growing number of customers willing to pay for extra services that help their pets get in shape. The company didn’t always offer treadmill fitness or nature hikes for dogs, but demand for those services has grown as owners increasingly spoil their pets as they would their own children.
“In general, I think there is a big trend toward providing comprehensive services,” he said. “We’ve seen a trend of more and more places offering these add-on services.”
Diana Ozimek, a trainer who runs fitness boot camps for women in Chicago, has her own solution. After seeing many pet owners who abandoned the gym to care for their pet, she developed a workout routine for canines and their owners alike.
The challenge, she says, is that pet owners see jogging as one of the only ways to work out in tandem with a dog. But her four- and six-week boot camps, which she began teaching about a month ago, incorporate light training for the dogs along with cardio and weight training for their keepers.
“You should definitely see a increased level of fitness for you and your dog,” she said. “You should both be able to work better together.”
WIDER PETS, THINNER WALLETS
A fat cat or plump pooch doesn’t just cause problems for the animal; it also can wreak havoc on an owner’s finances. Pet insurance provider Petplan said it saw a 348 percent rise in arthritis claims in 2011, as well as a 253 percent increase in diabetes and 32 percent incline in cardiac arrest claims, all of which are associated with extra weight. The company says costs add up.
Diabetes: $900 per incident, with costs reaching as much as $5,700
Ligament tears: $2,000 on average, and up to $6,000 in claims
Arthritis: $2,000 per incident, costing owners as much as $9,600
These figures don’t include the basics of pet ownership. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates the minimum cost of owning a small dog in its first year is $1,314. That number rises to $1,580 and $1,843 for medium and large dogs, respectively. For cats, owners can expect to pay $1,035.

Tufts veterinarians developed two quantitative tests for pets with heart disease that can help owners make decisions about treatments and euthanasia. FETCH (Functional Evaluation of Cardiac Health) and CATCH (Cats’ Assessment Tool for Cardiac Health) are surveys that ask owners to rank aspects of their pet’s health from zero to five. JAVMA published evaluations of both FETCH and CATCH.

June 25, 2012

Veterinarians Charlie Meynier and Jim Stortz write that spaying female dogs and cats reduces the incidence of mammary cancer, eliminates uterine and ovarian cancer risk and prevents pyometra, a potentially life-threatening infection of the uterus. Neutering male animals protects them from prostatic hypertrophy and infections, as well as testicular cancer and certain types of hernias. Drs. Meynier and Stortz also note that many less desirable animal behaviors are usually reduced by spaying or neutering, including roaming and territorial aggression.